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VSN Staff Reports
The Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association has named Ryan Carter of Proctor High baseball and Sarah Dalton of Cornwall and Boston University lacrosse as the state’s male and female Athletes of the Month for April.
Carter and Dalton are the 12th set of monthly winners for 2008-09. Still to be named are one male and one female at-large selections. All will be eligible for Vermont Athlete of the Year, the state’s top sports award. The 100-member statewide association will honor the monthly winners -- along with the state’s other top sports award recipients -- at the annual Vermont Athlete of the Year Banquet on May 31 at the historic Plumley Armory at Norwich University. Banquet tickets for the general public go on sale next week.
Carter had a solid month pitching and hitting for Proctor. On the mound Carter went undefeated (3-0) and amassed 38 strikeouts while boasting an ERA of just 1.06. The old myth that pitchers can’t hit does not apply to Carter. At the plate he was 26-for-31 with three home runs, 13 RBIs and an incredible On Base Percentage of .839. Carter, who is one of Vermont’s few baseball prospects, has attended several top baseball camps and clinics in the south as he has several colleges knocking on his door to play in the fall of 2009.
Carter, a senior, won the VSSA honor by edging Rowland Brucken, a Northfield marathon runner; lacrosse player Zach Davidson of South Burlington High, and baseball pitchers Ken Cook of Springfield and Castleton State and Casey Harman of South Burlington and Clemson University.
Dalton finished April as the nation’s leading scorer in NCAA Division I women's lacrosse with 86 goals; she also had 11 assists. During the month, the Addison County resident was a unanimous choice as the America East Player of the Year for the second time and the AE tournament's Most Outstanding Player after scoring a tournament record 11 goals in two games as the Terriers won their fifth straight crown. In all, Dalton, a midfielder, racked up 45 goals and six assists in April as No. 12 BU went 9-0. She also broke her own BU single season scoring record of 71 goals, and the program’s career scoring mark of 241 points by finishing April with 279 as BU headed into the national tournament with a 15-3 record. Dalton also was one of six finalists nationwide for best senior attack in the 2009 Laxpower Fan Awards. Dalton wears No. 13 to honor fellow Middlebury Union High and BU alum Alyssa Trudel, a former VSSA athlete of the year in the sport.
Dalton, a senior, won the VSSA award by edging the other female nominees: softball players Whitney Grennon of Franklin and Norwich University and Ashley Harkins of Colchester and St. Michael’s College; tracker runner Jan Carlson of Vermont and the University of Vermont, and lacrosse players Ashley Boucher and Jessie Wilson, both of Rutland and Marie VanDerKar of Manchester and Castleton State.
Carter joins the other male monthly winners: Buddy Lamothe of Lyndon Institute baseball (May); middle distance runner Andy Wheating of Norwich, Vt. (June); Davis Mikell of Williston Little League All-Stars (July); Greg Lutton of Addison County American Legion Baseball (August); Grant White of Springfield High football (September); Mick Wong of Hartford High football (October); Zach Dessureau of Spaulding High football (November); Trevor Pollock of Burr and Burton hockey (December); Clancy Rugg, Burlington High basketball (January); Jon Goldberg, Rice Memorial basketball (February); Peter Lenes, University of Vermont hockey (March).
Dalton joins the other female monthly winners: Jen McGowan of Jericho and national champion Hamilton College lacrosse (May); Stephanie Frank of Essex High softball (June); Erin Clodgo of Richmond and Junior National women’s freestyle wrestling (July); Katelyn “Teo” Poplawski of Vermont Women’s Amateur Golf (August); Caroline Weaver of South Burlington High cross country (September); Courtney Rohrig of Black River High soccer (October); Hannah Rowe of St. Johnsbury Academy cross country (November); Kaitlyn Lague of Spaulding hockey (December); Donna Lawson, Lake Region basketball (January); Mary Krug, Essex gymnastics (February); Katie Cutting, Rice Memorial Alpine skiing (March).
VSSA President George Commo said the monthly winners are selected through statewide balloting after association members submit detailed written nominations about individual performances in the previous month. All full-time and part-time sportswriters and sportscasters, including play-by-play announcers and analysts covering Vermont, are eligible for VSSA membership.
More information about the VSSA is available by calling (802) 654-2442.
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